As the corporate titans of Tampa Bay, they run companies that demonstrate the diversity of the region's workforce.

Selling laptops in Europe; building electronics and other goods out of more than 50 factories from Poland to Vietnam; providing Medicaid and Medicare plans to millions; operating one of the top independent brokerage firms outside Wall Street.

Yet when the leaders of the region's 10 biggest public companies were asked what Tampa Bay should do to improve its business climate, a majority echoed the same suggestion: make it easier for people to travel between work and home.

"It's hard to get around Pinellas and Hillsborough if you don't have a car," said Mark Mondello, CEO of Jabil Circuit. "Compared to Chicago, Dallas, L.A., Boston … it's night and day. If we're going to attract progressive types of workers and progressive types of corporate businesses, mass transit is an issue."

Bob Dutkowsky, CEO of Tech Data, the area's biggest public company by revenue, said businesses will continue to have trouble luring top talent unless the community invests more in roads and bridges, as well as mass transit.

"When people ponder if they want to move to Tampa Bay, they ask, 'Can I get to work from my house?' " he said. "We're blessed to have one of the beautiful places on the planet, but we have to make that more accessible. … It needs to get better if we're going to keep up … whether it's (investing) in roads or buses or light rail.

"We have the greatest airport in the world, and we just have to make sure you can get to that world-class airport."

TECO Energy CEO John Ramil said the bay area has stepped up before, cooperating across city and county boundaries to fix issues like available water. It should do the same, he says, to tackle transportation woes.

"There is no silver bullet to fix this growing challenge, but we can work together to improve it," he said. "We need to plan for the future. Which roads will be key in decades to come? How can we adapt mass transit to improve traffic? How can rail augment our existing mass transit in a sensible way?"

Interest in mass transit has ebbed and flowed through the years, but there has been neither the political will nor community push for making costly investments.

That could be changing. Both Ramil and Raymond James CEO Paul Reilly point to growing support for Greenlight Pinellas, an initiative on the ballot in November that would replace property tax revenue earmarked for transit with a 1 percent sales tax to fund dramatically increased bus service and future passenger rail service linking downtown St. Petersburg, the Carillon area and downtown Clearwater.

Reilly said his brokerage firm supports Greenlight Pinellas "because we understand that the most successful metropolitan centers rely heavily on public transportation to put talented workers together with the business community. Education and transportation are critical to Tampa Bay's long-term business future."

Executives cited several other pressing issues to stimulate the business climate. Among them: improving ties between local businesses and universities; getting more national and international flights out of Tampa International; and finding a way to keep major-league baseball in Tampa Bay.

Dutkowsky of Tech Data, however, indicated the region should take heart that its promise trumps its problems.

"Putting a new building in the ground is a massive commitment. … We could have moved somewhere else (but) we chose to stay," he said. "We can be really critical, but we should step back and realize we have a lot of good things here. … That's why we doubled down and invested in Tampa Bay."

The Florida Department of Transportation is correctly casting doubt about the viability of a private consortium’s proposal to build an elevated toll road across south Pasco County for a simple reason: The project isn’t what it was cracked up to be.

Consortium principals have touted that the project would be privately built, privately operated and privately maintained — that public money would be not needed. But as the Tribune’s Laura Kinsler reported this week, Secretary Ananth Prasad said he discovered during a recent meeting that the group would, indeed, need public money, leading him to say the project as submitted may not be doable.

Prasad left a bit of wiggle room by not flatly rejecting the proposal; he plans to revisit the matter with the principals soon. But the final decision should be easy if the circumstances don’t change. No public money should be used.

It was the developers who solicited the state, saying they could build, operate and maintain the elevated facility without public subsidies, and they should be held to that. And taxpayers need to be protected.

Of course, if it turns out public money won’t be needed, that doesn’t mean the consortium should be given the green light. There are major questions about the need, long-term feasibility, the impact to neighborhoods and the proposed length of the project — 33 miles, linking U.S. 19 and U.S. 301.

Even with the great uncertainty about the project, Pasco and state officials still have a dilemma on their hands — daily traffic jams on state roads 54 and 56 in central Pasco, especially in the area of Interstate 75. And they must be addressed, even if it means adding more lanes. Better public transit also needs to play a role in a county that sends tens of thousands of people into Hillsborough County to go to work.

State lawmakers also need to be watching how this plays out, because it clearly shows that the state needs a role in growth management, which the Legislature essentially killed a few sessions ago. With growth returning to Florida, traffic is only going to get worse unless transportation improvements keep pace.

Riding the bus in Brevard County could cost more in the coming months.

Space Coast Area Transit has proposed a package of fare increases that will be discussed Tuesday by the Brevard County Commission. The commission could approve the increases after Tuesday’s public hearing.

Under the plan, the full fare would increase by 25 cents to $1.50. The reduced fare for senior citizens, the disabled, students and veterans would rise 15 cents to 75 cents. The prices of multi-ride and 30-day passes also would increase. The increases would take effect July 1.

Additionally, SCAT proposes eliminating free transfers when riders switch from one bus to another in conjunction with the implementation of electronic fareboxes on its buses by the spring of 2015. Under the plan, riders wishing to transfer from one bus to another would need to purchase a $3 all-day pass.

Brevard County Transit Service Director James Liesenfelt said the proposed fare increases would raise about $192,000 a year for SCAT.

SCAT collected about $1.03 million in fares during its last budget year.

Fares currently cover about 17 percent of the bus service’s operating expenses, with federal and state grants and the county budget covering most of the balance.

Liesenfelt said the fare increase will allow SCAT to fully implement planned increases in service this summer on six routes.

SCAT held five public meetings to solicit comments from riders on the fare increase, as well as asking for comments on its website. Of the 162 fare-related comments it received, Liesenfelt said, about 60 percent were positive, 15 percent were neutral and 25 percent were negative.

Among the negative written comments from riders, which SCAT detailed in a report to the County Commission, prepared for Tuesday’s public hearing:

“Keep rates as they are. They are expensive enough.”

“I don’t think raising fares on handicapped and elderly is right. They are on fixed income.”

“I’m a female and homeless. It’s hard enough right now to get bus fare. It would be harder for me if you raised it.”

Among the positive comments:

“All for fare increase, especially if it is to provide more full-time drivers.”

“I think the fare increase is fine. It is a valuable service.”

“It’s still cheaper than car insurance every month.”

Liesenfelt said, even with the fare increase, the basic SCAT fare of $1.50 a trip would be lower than or at the same level as those in 25 of the 28 Florida bus systems surveyed.

He said SCAT’s only previous fare increase in the past 25 years occurred in 2006.

If You Go

Brevard County Commission will hold a hearing on the proposed fare increase during its meeting that begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Brevard County Government Center, Commission Board Room, First Floor, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera.

TAMPA — A new, more-conciliatory phase may be opening up in the contentious fight between taxi regulators in Hillsborough County and the ride-sharing upstarts Lyft and Uber.

Officials with the Public Transportation Commission have begun talks with at least one of the ride-sharing companies to find a “middle ground” that could allow the unregulated car service to operate inside the law in Hillsborough County, according to the agency’s executive director, Kyle Cockream.

“We’re trying to work through some things, but this is not a short-term process,” Cockream said. He declined to identify which of the companies he was talking with most recently, but did confirm he has talked to Lyft officials about several matters, such as insurance coverage. There is a long list of factors involved, Cockream said, primarily because Lyft and Uber operate so differently from taxi and limousine companies.

Taxi companies must receive a license from the PTC, get their vehicles inspected, and their drivers must pass background checks and charge PTC-approved rates.

By contrast, Lyft and Uber operate as something between a taxi and a friend with a car. Drivers with Lyft or Uber go through that company’s background check. Customers with a Lyft or Uber app on their smartphone request rides, with the fees based on the company’s rates and paid through the app system. Lyft and Uber also position themselves as a type of social network where passengers and drivers sign up in part to meet new friends.

A starting point is working on a few easier factors, he said.

The cars in use would likely pass a PTC inspection, if drivers sought them, and Lyft has been seeking out more insurance that would cover the driver and passenger in an accident. Setting up a Florida-based background check system should also be straightforward, he said.

That’s not to say a solution is just around the corner.

First, Cockream said, he would need to negotiate a preliminary deal with the ride-sharing companies. Then, if those talks succeeded, he would need to bring the proposed deal to the PTC board, issue public notice of any potential board meeting on the issue, and then the PTC would have to formally act.

Officials with Lyft and Uber have said they look forward to working with local authorities, and they have a big booster in Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

Unfortunately for Lyft and Uber, the city has no formal role in day-to-day operations of the PTC, which was established by state law and operates under its own jurisdiction.

When lawmakers on Friday handed Gov. Rick Scott a $77.1 billion budget for 2014-15, it included $15.5 million to complete the Coast-to-Coast Connector, a bicycle and pedestrian path that includes both Lake and Sumter counties.

The project has been a priority for Incoming Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando.

“This is an issue that the Senate has felt very, very strongly about the last couple of years,” Gardiner told House members Tuesday. “It means a lot to us and especially it means a lot to me personally.”

The money would be used to start filling in gaps in Central Florida between existing bicycle and pedestrian trials on both of Florida’s coasts.

The largest gap remaining a 30-mile stretch between the end of the Withlacoochee State Trail in northern Pasco County and the beginning of the South Lake Trail in South Lake County. Closing the gap would take the trail from Pasco County through eastern Hernando County, through Sumter County near Webster, and east through Lake County to Clermont, where the South Lake Trail continues east to Orlando and beyond.

The connector is to eventually link the Pinellas Trail in St. Petersburg with the Space Coast.

The 38.2-mile Pinellas Trail runs north from St. Petersburg through Gulfport, Largo, Clearwater, Dunedin and Tarpon Springs. Pinellas County estimates that 70,000 people use the trail monthly and support at least 13 bicycle and rental shops located along the trail.

Connector proponents cite the economic benefits to communities that have bike trails, saying 75 percent of Florida’s tourists participate in nature-based activities during their visits. In addition to renting bikes to use these trails, tourists will naturally gravitate to restaurants, stores, shops and accommodations near the trails, supporters say.

Dale Allen, president of the Florida Greenways & Trails Foundation, said the trail will help draw eco-tourists year-round and dispel some of Florida’s image as not being bicycle and pedestrian friendly.

“It’s known in the tourist community that we’re dangerous state. This will help us change that dynamic,” Allen said. “This will give the state of Florida something major to advertise.”

DOT Office of Policy Planning Director Jim Wood said Thursday that while the trails provide strong recreational value, the DOT supports the connector and similar pedestrian proposals because of their role in transportation.

“Pinellas Trail, one of the most used trails in the country, roughly two-thirds of its use is for non-recreational use,” Wood said. “So it’s for people trying to get from place to place.”

“The department was unable to reach an agreement with International Infrastructure Partners, LLC on a framework of financing and various design concepts for the corridor that would be acceptable to all parties and address the concerns of the local community,” he said in a statement issued over the weekend. “In absence of this framework, advancing this project would not make any sense.”

IIP had formed a consortium with Spanish construction firm, OHL Infrastructure, and was negotiating to lease FDOT right-of-way in the State Road 54/56 corridor for the 33-mile toll road. If approved, the $2 billion project would have been the state’s first private toll road and would have linked U.S. 19 and U.S. 301.

The project garnered widespread opposition throughout Pasco County, and support for it among local elected officials waned. The death-blow came during a May 1 meeting between the bidders and FDOT, when consortium members told Prasad they couldn’t finance the project without a significant public investment.

“When I heard we got to put money in, I was shut off,” he said. “If that’s the case, then it’s probably better to hit the reset button.”

Prasad vowed to continue working with officials from the region to address their transportation needs, but said future improvements to S.R. 54 will go through a traditional “bottom up” approach.

The department has budgeted more than $95 million over the next five years for improvements to S.R. 54. Later this year, the department will spent $18 million to widen the segment between the Suncoast Parkway to west of U.S. 41 to six lanes. The department also plans to widen the road between Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills - a $38 million project.

The county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization is still studying whether to include a four-lane elevated toll road on S.R. 54 as it goes through the yearlong process of updating Pasco’s Long Range Transportation Plan, which anticipates what traffic congestion will look like in the year 2040.

INVERNESS - The newly formed Hernando/Citrus Metropolitan Planning Organization is looking for volunteers for two of its committees.

The 11-member Citizens Advisory Committee evaluates and proposes solutions for alternative transportation and other critical issues. One representative each is needed for Brooksville, Crystal River and Inverness. Also needed are one public transit user and two representatives from the unincorporated areas of each county.

The seven-members Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee provides a forum for bicycle/pedestrian issues. One representative each is needed for Brooksville, Crystal River and Inverness, and two representatives each are needed for Citrus and Hernando counties at large.

Applications are available at the MPO’s office or through www.co.hernando.fl.us/MPO. Questions can be directed to Steve Diez, Transportation Planner II, Hernando/Citrus Metropolitan Planning Organization, 20 N. Main St., Room 262, Brooksville, FL 34601. He can be reached at 352-754-4057 or stevend@hernandocounty.us.